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Sunday, December 26, 2010

So, it's the day after Christmas. The presents are all open and you're getting through the annual post-Christmas hangover. Depending on your weather, it could be 70 degrees and gorgeous or 20 below, gray and ugly! If that's your lot this Sunday, what to do? If you've got a model layout to work on and materials to use, you're all set. If modeling's not your thing, there's always DVDs and YouTube.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Due to a glitch, I just found out that the events calendar was missing a very important date. I fixed the glitch, but just in case you missed it, here's the announcement:

The Great Train Expo will be in Denver, Colorado this weekend. One of the larger train shows in the Rocky Mountain region, the expo will have vendors selling all things rail related, especially model railroads, as well as modular clubs in scales G, O, HO, N and Z, all showing their latest builds and acquisitions. Combine it with a trip to Caboose Hobbies, and you've got a high chance of getting what you're looking for.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which burned in a fire in late June, could possibly be back in service by next season's opening day! Long time New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson directed the state's Department of Transportation to direct $1.2 Million in federal funds toward the trestle reconstruction.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Bill Hume, board member of the C&TS Railroad Management Company wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Albuquerque Journal regarding the Lobato Trestle rebuild project. In it, he covers the history of the actions taken since the fire in June. Of note:

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad continues their school for different roles on steam operated freight trains. This week, they've got 6 firemen students training. The video is from Monday where they spent half the day in the classroom and half the day making up the train they planned to use on Tuesday.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Aside from the photo aggregate sites like railpictures.net and rrpicturearchives.net, it's hard to find photographers with high-quality railroad photographs of the 60s, 70s and 80s in Colorado. That's why I got a bit excited when I found Gary Morris' site and his section on the Rio Grande Railroad earlier this summer. He's got his collection organized in HTML by railroad, but you can still find a few BN and UP shots in Denver if you dig for them.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

It's September, and that means the fall aspen colors are making their annual appearance in the high country. Usually they are in evidence the first week after Labor Day in the north of the state to as late as the first or second week of October in the far south near New Mexico. I say usually because there is no sure fire way to predict how the aspens will change. Sometimes they peak in color quickly, in what seems like a few days. Other times, the peak is more than a week in some areas. By peak, I mean that the traces of green in the leaves are almost totally gone but all or nearly all of the leaves are still on the trees. Some years, there isn't a peak, and that's depressing!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

A helicopter crashed on Pikes Peak on early Friday morning, with all four aboard injured but alive. The debris field closed the Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway, also known as the Cog Wheel Route, along with the toll road running from Cascade to the summit. The four passengers were treated and released from the hospital in nearby Colorado Springs. The railway still operated trains on a shortened route and restored service to the summit house today. The toll road is also re-opened.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad recently completed Railfest 2010, and the fans have some pretty unique souvenirs for their money. I found this picture while browsing their Railfest photo gallery. I've seen worse, but I think most folks would agree that when a person is giving a whistle demonstration at said Railfest, it's important--nay, crucial that they bring adequate ear protection. Regardless, the show, or the demonstration, must go on.

Friday, August 27, 2010

The September 2010 issue of Trains Magazine features diesel engines using distributed power in Colorado. The cover boasts, "Ultimate Motive Power, 6 Locomotives [under] 1 Engineer, How distributed power changed the way railroads run big trains." The main article by David Lustig features a double page spread of the Moffat Route through Little Gore Canyon to start the article, another from the Front Range sub north of Palmer Lake, and yet another from the west of Denver above the Big Ten Curve west of Clay, Colorado, which is also where the cover was shot (see at left).

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Seldom does a tourist railroad lead the nightly newscast for something other than a major disaster, a miniature railroad doubly so. Wednesday, August 11th, a morning train making it's trip around the 15-inch gauge Tiny Town railroad was northbound along the roadway through South Turkey Creek Canyon toward the northern end of the park with 30 passengers aboard. Heading into a curve, the train derailed, spilling the 2-6-0 live steam engine #10 and ending with five of the six cars on the ground. The last car was a caboose loaded with children.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Cumbres & Toltec has a new TV spot that just made it on their YouTube channel. Docent and long-time C&TS supporter, Rich Muth introduces himeself and invites everyone out for a trip. Did he say something about discounted rates?

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The yard at Denver's Burnham shops have seen more than a few engines these days as Union Pacific held an auction of more than 50 units on July 14, 2010. Earlier in the month, a request came in from the Colorado Railroad Museum. Would it be possible, they asked, for UP to donate unit UP 9871? Within hours, UP said yes!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Kimm Wierema, who lives with a family of railfans, managed to capture some really nice photos of UP 844 on its visit to Milliken, Colorado. The last-purchased, never-retired steam locomotive of the Union Pacific was on hand on June 26th to help the City of Milliken celebrate its centennial this year.

November 6 & 7, 2010 - Denver
The Great Train Expo returns to Denver's National Western Complex at 4655 Humboldt Street on November 6th &amp; 7th, 2010, for their fall show. This is a large event that pulls in exhibitors and hobby shops from several states around the Rocky Mountain region. Model railroad clubs will be there with their modular layouts. The doors will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Admission for adults is $7 at the door with kids under 12 free with an adult. .

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

This September, the Western Slope has a swap meet scheduled for September 11th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church at 5th Street and White Avenue in downtown Grand Junction. Free parking is on east side of c the church. Amission $2 for adults, children under 12 admitted free. Tables cost $5, second table $4 and three tables for $12. Set up starts at 8 am. Interested parties call Robert at (970) 254-8606.

The Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA) returns to Denver this year with it's national convention at the end of this month. While most of the events are open only to members, they do make their private train show open to the public on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Adults $5 each Under 18 free with paying adult. The convention and the show are held at the Denver Marriott Tech Center.

There are a few more train shows still coming this year. Most of the shows will be in Denver, except where noted. I will be breaking them up into individual posts so that any comments will be specific for the event.

As it says on their site, you don't have to be a member to attend. The cost of the convention this year will be $130.00. This includes clinics, contests, displays, banquet and Sunday breakfast, a pin, and a patch. Extra banquet tickets are $45.00, extra breakfast tickets are $25.00. For reservations and further information, visit their site.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

At last, there is good news from Chama! Because of the fire at the Lobato Trestle, the 40th anniversary season of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was under a significant cloud of doubt. Now, the operational shuffle by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad appears to be over for the time being.

On Thursday, June 24th, the Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad burned, raining flaming timbers from its steel frame onto the underbrush and evergreens below, charring 2 acres before being extinguished. That Saturday, structural engineers from HNTB in St. Louis did an emergency assessment of the trestle, and produced a preliminary report by July 1st.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Following up on the previous post on Lobato Trestle. I received the following message from Tim Tennant, President and CEO of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a non-profit dedicated toward preserving the history of the C&TS equipment. He states,

Saturday, June 26, 2010

As of 6:00 PM yesterday, the Parkdale Canyon fire is considered 100% contained, although smoldering fires and underground hot spots still remain. Instead of resuming train operations this morning as anticipated, the Royal Gorge Route railroad has voluntarily continued its self-imposed moratorium until the owners are sure that the route is safe to continue without risking a repeat of Monday. In a statement released today, owner Mark Greska, said,

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Parkdale Canyon fire posted yesterday is 85% contained with full containment expected by tomorrow (Sat). The fire started Monday just after noon, with some witnesses claiming the flames started shortly after the Royal Gorge Route passed nearby on it's 12:30 p.m. run.

As previously announced here, UP 844 and a compliment of UP passenger equipment are making a special run to Milliken, Colorado for the city's centennial celebration this summer. Folks interested in following the train's progress online should visit UP Steam's site and track it on their big map via satellite uplink. If you tweet or simply follow tweeters, the updates will also be posted to their Twitter page.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Fires in two separate locations are causing major disruptions during the summer. The Royal Gorge Route has canceled trains due to a wildfire in Parkdale. More significant is the disruption caused by a fire at Lobato for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic.

Monday, June 14, 2010

This isn't directly related to railroads, but with today being Flag Day, I thought it would be appropriate and a little interesting to look at the flag when Colorado's star was added . It was first used on July 4, 1877, the first Independence Day after Colorado's admission into the Union.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

It's no secret that during the summer, Chama, New Mexico, has the best morning show around, especially when they have a K-36 Mikado like C&TS #484 lined for Cumbres Pass and Colorado. This video pretty much proves it. Doesn't she look great with the flying Grande on her tender?

A memorial service for railfan and photographer Jim Ozment will be held at the Museum in the picnic area at the Colorado Railroad Museum on June 12th at 3:00 PM followed by light refreshments. Mr. Ozment, who passed away December 7th, was a longtime member at the museum and Advisory Board member. Examples of his work may be found and purchased at www.westernrailimages.com

Saturday, May 29, 2010

This Memorial Day weekend typically signals the opening day for a lot of tourist and scenic railroads. The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad has been settling in for a week already and has a number of events scheduled for this year. Along with the kids' Cinder Bear Express and the Wild West Trains, the C&TS is also planning celebrations of its 40th Anniversary of operations between their main facilities in Chama, New Mexico and their station at Antonito, Colorado. It looks like they are ready for this summer!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

If you've ever had the feeling you were on a streak of bad luck, you and the bridge over Colorado Highway 72 at Coal Creek Canyon might have something in common. Last December, a significant derailment dropped hopper cars like toys all over the bridge and both approaches, closing the highway. Monday, May 17th, was a bit different, but it had a similar impact, with delayed motorists, re-routed freight and a Cal-Z sent through Wyoming.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

The D&SNG is the only narrow gauge railroad that, like the UP 844, has never ceased operations. It's squat, black engines and strings of Grande Gold coaches have been delighting railfans for more than half a century.

The video below, set from a unique angle, is from Hermosa, Colorado. No analog quality here! A train running over you (or your camera) at a good 25 or 30 miles an hour is impressive, and with digital quality and a widescreen format, it's quite an amazing vantage point between the rails!

While every summer, the tourist railroads haul thousands of visitors, this is different from their original purpose of hauling goods, passengers, supplies, ore, pipe and even oil. For the railfan born too late, there is nothing more true to that expeience than watching a photo freight, a train constructed by the railroad explicitly for the benefit of photographing it.

Boston, Massachusetts' MBTA is suing Denver-based Rocla Concrete Tie Inc. for an estimated $91 Million tie replacement project after the previous ties sold to them as 50 year ties with a 15 year warranty apparently now lie crumbling beneath the MBTAs Old Colony line, which leaves Boston's city center and follows a SE direction to Plymouth.

Noted Colorado narrow gauge enthusiast and author William M. Moedinger passed away April 24, 2010. He is the author of The Road To Paradise: The Story of The Rebirth of the Strasburg Rail Road. as well as a fan of anything that ran on rails. He was the recipient of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's 2003 Railroad History Award in photography.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

On April 13th, a construction worker at the Ft. Lupton Vestas plant drove his utility truck into the path of an oncoming Union Pacific container train. Jose Lucio was making a turn on an unfamiliar crossing and did not completely clear the grade crossing before the rear of his truck was caught by the lead unit. The train was traveling 50 MPH, but took only 1,000 feet beyond the crossing to come to a complete stop. John Carr of the Ft. Lupton Press covered the accident and the construction company's personnel cleaning up the resulting destruction of the truck.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The 6th Avenue Bridge Rollout has finished early. Originally scheduled for 30 hours, work was completed in 14 hours, less than half the time expected. As a result, traffic resumed it's normal flow today instead of tomorrow. Denver's 9News.com has photos of the rollout as well as video coverage.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is planning an expansion of the Ft. Carson rail yard. Ft. Carson is a large army post southwest of Colorado Springs. In the 1940s, Camp Carson--named for explorer and soldier Gen. Kit Carson--was started to raise Army troops for combat in World War II. Around the time nearby Camp Hale near Leadville was closed, Camp Carson became Ft. Carson.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The City of Milliken, Colorado is celebrating its centennial this year, and the town Historical Society has scheduled a train day on June 26, 2010, to celebrate. The Union Pacific's 4-8-4 steam locomotive #844 will make an appearance that day in town. The UP Steam site shows the schedule set for June 25th and 26th, probably taking the 25th to travel to Milliken and overnight there, and then using the 26th to perform and travel back.

Aside from a town brochure (PDF) and a calendar mentioning the date and the event, more specific details are not available at this time.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

For those near the Front Range, a small, semi-regular gathering of railfans reconvenes at their usual spot, a small parking lot in north Palmer Lake (see map). The meet is as egalitarian and informal as possible, with no meals or facilities provided. Someone usually brings a scanner that picks up what trains are in the area.

It was bound to happen. With a continued lack of demand because of the recession, old locomotives that have seen their share of railroad miles are rounded up and sent via "funeral train" to a retirement storage, known as a "dead line." Intrepid photographer Kevin Morgan chased a funeral train on April 17, 2010. This time it seems to be a large
percentage of tunnel motors that had been marked for retirement, with 17 out of 21 (81%) being SD40T-2s. The train continued on to the dead line at Burnham.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

The RTD FasTracks West Corridor team will roll out the main span of a double-track light rail bridge across 6th Avenue just east of Simms & Union the weekend of April 23rd through April 25th, 2010. All lanes of 6th Avenue between Simms & Union and Kipling Street will close at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 23rd to prepare the area for the roll-out, scheduled to begin early Saturday morning. 6th Avenue and the frontage road will re-open by 5:30 a.m. Monday, April 26th.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Colorado Railroads has been blogging since January 30, 2006. Since then, we've seen a lot of changes. We've seen the very last of Colorado's home grown railroad, the Rio Grande, vanish from the locomotive roster of the Union Pacific with the retirement of SD-40T-2 DRGW 5371 to UP's steam facilities in Cheyenne. This happened the year after UP We've covered Class 1 action, scenic lines, simple grade crossing incidents and major derailments. We've even seen the birth of a shortline's steam-powered tourist railroad.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Anyone who has spent much time studying the narrow gauge railroads of southern Colorado has likely come across library books by Richard L. Dorman. His books were often tied to the lines and cities and towns that were born of the railroads of the Rio Grande and the Rio Grande Southern. Dorman became enamored with the narrow gauge after a 1973 trip aboard the Denver & Rio Grande Western's fabled Silverton train. He began to collect photographs, especially of the Rio Grande Southern, only 20 years gone at the time. As a result, he met a lot of the RGS engineers and wives who had photograph collections.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Union Pacific announced that they would be replacing more than a mile of rail on curves on the Joint Line between near Castle Rock and Colorado Springs. The curves project should start at the end of July and end in mid-August. UP also said that they are replacing more than 15,000 railroad ties between Spruce and Monument and should complete the work by April 19th.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

I just got done reading Boho in the 'Burbs: Train Yard Volunteering. See what it's like to volunteer at the Colorado Railroad Museum for a few hours. If anything, it's worth the look inside CB&Q business car 96. It's very cool to see a family get together and give a few hours together. It got me thinking too.

Monday, April 5, 2010

The San Luis Valley has been a world unto itself for centuries. Cut off from the rest of Colorado by mountains on three sides, it has a rugged beauty and a feel that's different from the rest of the state. Once breached by the rails of the infant Denver & Rio Grande over Veta Pass on its way to Durango, the valley's riches were easily carried to Pueblo, Denver and beyond. Today, the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad based in Alamosa, Colorado functions as a short line feeding the Union Pacific connection at Walsenberg.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Not only could this bill passed by our wonderful, Democratic state senate cut coal miners in our state, but also cost more railroad jobs when we're already in a massive recession. According to the Association of American Railroads, ton-mile volumes in 2009 dropped 15% compared to the same month 2008. Only 1938 and 1949 rival such a decline. "And that's compared to 2008, not exactly a stellar year itself," according to Roy Blanchard in Trains Magazine, (May 2010 pg 6). Further research with AAR reveals that nationally, February's coal carloads dropped 10% when compared with February last year.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club charter on May 21, 1950, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is running a photographers' special on May 25th, 2010. The train will operate on the Cumbres & Toltec from Antonito to Osier and return. Motive power will feature green-jacketed K-36 Mikado Locomotive 489.

Friday, March 26, 2010

The Rocky Mountain Rail Authority (RMRA) has come back to CDOT with it's High Speed Rail study, which began in July 2008. The Big figure that makes the headlines is the $22 Billion. That would be for a high speed rail network with dedicated rights-of-way to pass 100 MPH trains through Colorado along the I-70 and I-25 axises. The critical segment running from DIA to Summit County would figure to be around $9 Billion, according to one source on the RMRA.

Friday, March 19, 2010

As part of Denver's regional Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), the Colorado Railroad Museum receives sales tax dollars collected across the district. As a thank you to the region, facilities have "free days" where admissions are not required. The museum has two free days this year. The first is tomorrow, March 20th, 2010.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

It was a pleasure to read a letter to the Alamosa Valley Courier today regarding the San Luis & Rio Grande. A doting grandmother who lives in the San Luis Valley recounted her trip with her grandchildren on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad from last fall. I too have taken that trip, and like her, I am worried that the SL&RG's denial of TIGER funds will prevent the valley from prospering.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

As previously announced in the Colorado Railroads Google calendar, the World's Greatest Hobby On Tour is coming this weekend to Denver. On February 20th & 21st, WGH On Tour will be at the National Western Complex from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults with kids 16 and under free. For more details, visit the WGH site.

When the Union Pacific bought the Rio Grande and Southern Pacific in 1996, it closed the Tennessee Pass line between Parkdale and Minturn, making the route feasible for a tourist operation. Within two years, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad began taking passengers through the dark depths of the Royal Gorge, the most scenic and accessible portion of the route using reconditioned EMD F-7s and former VIA/CN coaches.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Soni Honegger, a talented and resourceful man of steam, has resigned from his position as General Manager of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Honegger came to the position November 1, 2008, amid praise for his skillful resourcefulness. At that point, he had worked with the C&TS for nearly 9 years after serving with Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railroad and the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad.

Ojore Nuru Lutalo, the self-described anarchist arrested in La Junta, Colorado after being put off Amtrak's Southwest Chief for making threats and statements related to Islamic terrorism, is off the hook.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Picture this: You're out railfanning on the joint line south of Denver--solid choice for February--and you get this craving for coffee, or at least your hands are cold and need to hold something warm. Rather than hit the nearest Starbucks or McDonalds, I have the perfect stop, and it's truly a stop worth making.

If you've seen a group of people walking around your local railroad museum dressed up in turn-of-last-century or Victorian garb, especially around your local museum, you've been exposed to Steampunk. It's the future, or is it the past?

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Have a collection of railroad photos based on a location, interest or theme? Is using Flickr or Panoramio just not letting you show your abilities? Build a photo essay, or simply take a look at what one site can do.

The California Zephyr due to arrive Chicago yesterday afternoon got there at 17 hours 56 minutes late, at 9:26 this morning. The Zephyr due to arrive Chicago today terminated in Denver yesterday. Yesterday’s departure from Chicago did not operate Chicago-Denver but the train departed Denver west this morning.

Similarly, freight service on BNSF (route of the CZ) and Union Pacific, has been disrupted. From the AP:

Burlington Northern Santa Fe said the cold weather and snow was causing its freight trains to be delayed between 24 and 72 hours in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana and North and South Dakota.

Welcome!

Welcome to Colorado Railroads, a site for the fans of past and present railroads serving the Centennial State in the USA. Its editor is a Colorado native, whose fascination with trains started at age 5 in Durango with the smell of creosote, sweat, steam, and coal smoke, the sight of a headlight and smokestack down the tracks, and the sound of an engine whistle echoing off canyon walls. The question isn't "What's so fascinating about Colorado's railroads?" It's "How could anyone not be captivated by such a beautiful and rich experience?" more